"I also started adding in Romaine lettuce to boost water intake since my iguana consistently poops in her water bowl so I've taken it out."

Please do not feed your iguana any type of lettuce, they desperately need all the nutrition they can get and by filling themselves with lettuce defeats the whole object. You can soak the greens in water for 10-20 minutes before giving it to your iguana, that way it will have more water than lettuce.

Iguana diet: Home

Iguanas HATE pooping in their cages, they are very clean animals and do not want to step in their poop, see it or even smell it. It is perfect that he poops in his water bowl, this way he keeps his cage clean and makes it easier for you to clean daily. Add another bowl of water for him to drink from, although iguanas do not drink from bowls.

"I take a mix of the whole leaves of these greens and rather than chop them up and put them in a bowl, I tie the end of a bunch with a long twist tie and I hang it in her cage."

The iguana has a hindgut between the small and large intestines. It has valves inside and is filled with microflora, small organisms including bacteria and possibly protozoa. This helps slow food down so the microflora can easily break down the cellulose which enables the iguana to extract more nutrients from the passing food. Iguana researchers estimate that Iguanas may obtain 40% of their energy from the hindgut fermentation.

Iguanas need a minimum of 29C (85F) to properly digest their food because the mocroflora in the iguana's hindgut are only activated at this temperature.

If the food are not cut into small bite size pieces little digestion will occur in the stomach. Food chopped and shredded in small pieces will mean less work for the iguana's digestive system and allow the iguana to eat more food per meal, receiving more nutrition.
Iguana Care Sheets & Diet

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